I'll Follow the Moon (Mom's Choice Award Honoree and Chocolate Lily Award Winner) (Hardcover)

Chocolate Lily Award congratulates Stephanie Lisa Tara and Lee Edward Fodi (illustrator) for I'll Follow The Moon's third place win!!! -- *Chocolate Lily Award Winner - June 2007*

Click, clack, tap,
Blue melts away. As I tap, crick, crack,I spin, I sway.
I'm coming, Mama, I'll see you soon
I know just how...I'll follow the moon.

Written in simple verse in the first person, the rhythmic text is full of action and sensory detail and loaded with alliteration and onomatopoeia for an enjoyable read-aloud. Only one stanza using the word 'eternity' may puzzle young minds. The refrain, "I'm coming, Mama.....," repeated on each double page spread, is soothing and reassuring of the joyful reunion to come. The atmosphere of a quiet but determined struggle to break free of the egg soon gives way to growing excitement as the turtle mingles with fellow hatchlings and catches his first tempting sensations: the smell of salt air, the sight of the moon's glow, the gentle touch and beckoning sounds of the waves rushing to shore. Once he's free of the land, new motions take over: gulp, spin, float, swim.... The final happy refrain is new and satisfying: "I'm here, Mama - here with you. I know I'd find you, Moon did too."
Highly Recommended.

Gillian Richardson, who lives in BC, is a former teacher-librarian and freelance writer. -- CM Magazine, Gillian Richardson

Gorgeous watercolors chronicle the journey of a baby sea turtle from its hatching to its first swim in the sea. -- Kirkus Reviews, September 2005

Books of Wonder, New York City; Peter Glassman December 2007

Mom's Choice Awards 2007 -- wishes to congratulate Stephanie Lisa Tara and Lee Edward Fodi on their finalist standing for their book, I'll Follow the Moon!

This attractive book is an enjoyable way to introduce young listeners to a fascinating cycle in nature. [A]n enjoyable read-aloud. -- Gillian Richardson, CM Magazine, September 2005

[A] comforting story that assures a child they will always be able to follow the light of a mother's love. -- BOOKVIEWS, November 2005

[S]weetly told....Tara uses soothing repetition to hook young listeners, and Fodi's drawings are divine. -- Janie Magruder, The Arizona Republic